TOYOTA PRIUS · model year

2021 TOYOTA PRIUS

10 NHTSA complaints, 3 crash reports for this specific cohort.

NHTSA overall rating

5 / 5 ★

New Car Assessment Program

The 2021TOYOTAPRIUS carries 10 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 3 crashes, 0 fires, 0 injuries, and 0 fatalities. For crash performance, NHTSA's New Car Assessment Program gave this cohort an overall 5/5 rating, with 4/5 front crash, 5/5 side crash, and 4/5 rollover scores derived from standardized barrier and dynamic tests.

Component-level analysis is where model-year complaints become actionable: the top complaint category for the 2021 PRIUS is engine with 2 filings, followed by wheels (1) and fuel/propulsion system (1). Concentration in one or two component groups is the classic signature of a systemic defect; a flat distribution usually reflects normal aging, warranty complaints, or isolated build-plant variability.

NHTSA currently has 51 investigation files overlapping the 2021 PRIUS, and 1 remain open. Owners comparing this cohort against neighboring years should pair the counters above with the complaint-by-year trend on the parent model page — a spike in a single year often tracks to a platform refresh, a new transmission supplier, or an updated ECU calibration. Use the related-complaint feed below to read raw owner narratives before deciding whether any pattern here affects your specific use case.

10
Complaints
3
Crashes
0
Fires
0
Injuries
0
Deaths
2021 TOYOTA PRIUS — NHTSA crash-test profile NHTSA NCAP crash-test star ratings for the 2021 TOYOTA PRIUS. Overall composite: 5.0 of 5 stars across 3 safety dimensions. Front CrashSide CrashRollover 5.0 NHTSA NCAP of 5 stars
  • Front Crash 4.0 ★
  • Side Crash 5.0 ★
  • Rollover 4.0 ★
NHTSA overall 5.0/5 stars, with front-crash, side-crash and rollover ratings from standardized NCAP barrier and dynamic tests.

Total Complaints

10 filings

Crashes Reported

3 reports

Source

NHTSA ODI

Federal complaints database

Complaints vs. fleet median (215)

At or below the fleet median complaint volume.

NHTSA NCAP overall: 5/5 — Top NCAP rating · Front: 4/5 · Side: 5/5 · Rollover: 4/5

Complaints by Component

ComponentCount
ENGINE2
WHEELS1
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM1
UNKNOWN OR OTHER1
SERVICE BRAKES1
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM1
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL1
LANE DEPARTURE: ASSIST1
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL1

Recent Complaints

20240918VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

The contact owns a 2021 Toyota Prius. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 - 45 MPH, the vehicle independently accelerated. The brake pedal was depressed but failed to stop the vehicle immediately. The contact swerved around the vehicle in front and ended up on the opposite side of the roadway. The contact attempted to avoid oncoming traffic and swerving around all the other vehicles and ended up in a ravine. The contact's husband depressed the START/STOP button from the passenger’s side to turn off the vehicle, enabling the vehicle to come to a stop. The contact restarted the vehicle and continued to drive the vehicle to the dealer at slow speeds. The dealer was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure by the dealer. The failure mileage was 56,000.

Mileage: 56,000

20230714FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL

The Lane keeping assist used in radar cruise control mode during some drive cycles will attempt to maintain the vehicle position to the far extreme of the lane and in some cases actively veer out of the lane. My safety ant others can be put at risk when the vehicle behaves outside of its design parameters like this. To solve the issue the vehicle must be pulled over, turned off, then restarted. After the restart it will resume functioning normally, maintaining lane positioning as intended within the limits of the system. The trigger for this is unknown but could be speculated that it is drive cycle dependent and may start during initialization. The problem has not been reproduced by a dealer or service center due to its intermittent nature. There are no warning indicators or lamps on when this occurs.

20230714LANE DEPARTURE: ASSIST

The Lane keeping assist used in radar cruise control mode during some drive cycles will attempt to maintain the vehicle position to the far extreme of the lane and in some cases actively veer out of the lane. My safety ant others can be put at risk when the vehicle behaves outside of its design parameters like this. To solve the issue the vehicle must be pulled over, turned off, then restarted. After the restart it will resume functioning normally, maintaining lane positioning as intended within the limits of the system. The trigger for this is unknown but could be speculated that it is drive cycle dependent and may start during initialization. The problem has not been reproduced by a dealer or service center due to its intermittent nature. There are no warning indicators or lamps on when this occurs.

20230613CrashSERVICE BRAKES

The car accelerated without my foot on the accelerator, brake did not respond, and I had to drive through grass and a rock-filled ditch until after about 10 seconds the car returned to my control.

20230613CrashENGINE

The car accelerated without my foot on the accelerator, brake did not respond, and I had to drive through grass and a rock-filled ditch until after about 10 seconds the car returned to my control.

20230613CrashELECTRICAL SYSTEM

The car accelerated without my foot on the accelerator, brake did not respond, and I had to drive through grass and a rock-filled ditch until after about 10 seconds the car returned to my control.

20210511ENGINE

CARBON MONOXIDE SEEPS INTO THE PASSENGER CAR BUT DILLER CANNOT FIND IT AND DID NOT HAVE TOOLS TO DETECT CO LEVEL IN THE CAR. I CAN'T USE THIS CAR BECAUSE WAS POISONED MANY TIMES AND AFTER A SECOND CHECK-UP, THE LEVEL OF CO BECOMES HIGHER SO I CAN'T DRIVE THE CAR WITHOUT POISONING. PLEASE HELP ME. I AM WORRYING TO SELL MY CAR BECAUSE OTHER DRIVER WILL GET INJURY. THIS IS THE NEW CAR ONLY 7000 MILES.

Mileage: 5,200

20210511FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM

CARBON MONOXIDE SEEPS INTO THE PASSENGER CAR BUT DILLER CANNOT FIND IT AND DID NOT HAVE TOOLS TO DETECT CO LEVEL IN THE CAR. I CAN'T USE THIS CAR BECAUSE WAS POISONED MANY TIMES AND AFTER A SECOND CHECK-UP, THE LEVEL OF CO BECOMES HIGHER SO I CAN'T DRIVE THE CAR WITHOUT POISONING. PLEASE HELP ME. I AM WORRYING TO SELL MY CAR BECAUSE OTHER DRIVER WILL GET INJURY. THIS IS THE NEW CAR ONLY 7000 MILES.

Mileage: 5,200

20210511UNKNOWN OR OTHER

CARBON MONOXIDE SEEPS INTO THE PASSENGER CAR BUT DILLER CANNOT FIND IT AND DID NOT HAVE TOOLS TO DETECT CO LEVEL IN THE CAR. I CAN'T USE THIS CAR BECAUSE WAS POISONED MANY TIMES AND AFTER A SECOND CHECK-UP, THE LEVEL OF CO BECOMES HIGHER SO I CAN'T DRIVE THE CAR WITHOUT POISONING. PLEASE HELP ME. I AM WORRYING TO SELL MY CAR BECAUSE OTHER DRIVER WILL GET INJURY. THIS IS THE NEW CAR ONLY 7000 MILES.

Mileage: 5,200

20210325WHEELS

WHILE DRIVING ON THE I 4 WE HAD A BLOWOUT ON THE REAR PASSENGER TIRE. THE CAR HAD LESS THAN 200 MILES ON IT SO IT WAS BRAND NEW. THE DEALERSHIP FOUND OBJECT IN THE TIRE THAT COULD HAVE CAUSE THE PROBLEM THE ONLY CONCLUSION I COULD COME TO IS THAT THIS TIRE WAS DEFECTIVE. THE DEALERSHIP SAID I COULD HAVE RUN OVER A LARGE OBJECT OR A LARGE POTHOLE, WHICH I DOUBT.

Mileage: 190

Compare 2021TOYOTAPRIUS to Similar Vehicles

NHTSA Investigations 1 Open

View all investigations

Frequently Asked Questions

How many complaints does the 2021 TOYOTA PRIUS have?
The 2021 TOYOTA PRIUS has 10 NHTSA complaints, 3 crashes, 0 fires, 0 injuries, and 0 deaths reported.
What is the safety rating for the 2021 TOYOTA PRIUS?
The 2021 TOYOTA PRIUS received an overall NHTSA safety rating of 5/5, front crash rating of 4/5, side crash rating of 5/5, and rollover rating of 4/5.
What are the most common problems with the 2021 TOYOTA PRIUS?
The most-complained component for the 2021 TOYOTA PRIUS is ENGINE with 2 complaints. Other frequently reported areas include WHEELS and FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM.
Is the 2021 TOYOTA PRIUS safe to buy?
Review the complaint history, crash and fire reports, safety ratings, and recall status on this page to make an informed decision. The 2021 TOYOTA PRIUS has an NHTSA safety rating of 5/5. Compare with other model years using the links above.
Where does this data come from?
All complaint, recall, and safety rating data is sourced from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Complaints are filed by vehicle owners through NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation.

Vehicle Safety Guides

Data as of 2025. Sources: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) complaints database, NHTSA recall campaign API, NHTSA NCAP crash-test ratings, and NHTSA FARS for fatality cross-reference.